Before we get started on our little time travel journey, we need to take a course called “Big Ten 101.”
If you’d been asleep for the last couple of years and woke up in the year 2024, you might be bewildered at the way athletic programs have played musical chairs with conferences recently. Let me get you up to speed.
Oklahoma and Texas are now in the SEC. Arizona, Arizona State, BYU, and Central Florida are now in the Big 12—what-the—and Cal, Stanford, and SMU are now in the…drumroll…ACC.
There’s more, but let’s not try to eat the elephant all at once.
The current Big Ten landscape includes:
– Indiana
– Illinois
– Iowa
– Maryland
– Michigan
– Michigan State
– Minnesota
– Nebraska
– Northwestern
– Ohio State
– Oregon
– Penn State
– Purdue
– Rutgers
– UCLA
– USC
– Washington
– Wisconsin
Any of those jump out at you?
UCLA? USC? Oregon? Washington? What has the world come to?
And with all respect to Nebraska, I still lump the Cornhuskers in with the Big 12 or even Big Eight (this shows how old I am).
For our purposes here, let’s concentrate on the Crimson Tide’s history versus traditional Big Ten opponents. These include: Purdue, Indiana, Iowa, Illinois, Michigan, Michigan State, Northwestern, Ohio State, Penn State, and Wisconsin. And, just for fun, let’s include Rutgers in the discussion as well, since Rutgers feels sort of Big Tennie but has only been in the conference since 2014.
Oddly enough, there are a few schools we can get out of the way quickly. In its illustrious 100+ year history, Alabama has never played the following: Purdue, Indiana, Northwestern, and Iowa. Hard to believe the Crimson Tide and Boilermakers have never locked horns, but it’s not fake news.
Now to the traditional matchups:
Michigan
The Alabama-Michigan series has been a mixed bag across the years. There have been times when Alabama has dominated the Wolverines (think: the 2012 shellacking in Arlington) and there have been times when it seemed the Crimson Tide let victory slip through its fingers (2000 Orange Bowl, 2024 Rose Bowl).
And then I think about the year 1996—Gene Stallings’ curtain call—when the Tide toppled the Wolverines 17-14 in the Outback Bowl.
These two traditional blue bloods slugging it out has been a rare event, but it has sure been entertaining as the series is tied 3-3.
Ohio State
Alabama has fared better against Ohio State than Michigan. Never mind the gut-wrenching 42-35 loss to the Buckeyes in the semifinals of the 2014 season (remember ‘Bama was up 21-6 with 8:00 left in the second quarter), the Crimson Tide has been dominant in this series, holding a 4-1 edge over their northern counterparts.
The last time the two teams met was in the CFP National Championship Game on January 11, 2021 at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida. Alabama, fielding one of the greatest teams in program history, walloped the Buckeyes 52-24.
The Crimson Tide also captured victories against the Buckeyes in 1994, 1986, and 1977. The 1994 game was memorialized in an oil painting by artist Daniel Moore in a print called “The Winning Connection.”
Michigan State
Michigan State may want to try to avoid Alabama in the postseason. In two games the teams have played, the Crimson Tide posted a 49-7 victory in 2010 and 38-0 victory against the Spartans in 2015. In the latter contest, Alabama running back Derrick Henry flipped Michigan State defensive end Shilique Calhoun like he was a flapjack on a griddle.
In the 49-7 victory, Alabama held Michigan State quarterback Kirk Cousins to only 120 yards passing and the Spartan rushing attack to a pathetic -48 yards rushing. Overall, it was one of the most dominating performances in Crimson Tide bowl history, as the Spartans managed a total of 171 offensive yards.
Penn State
Alabama-Penn State is an old school rivalry that had its heyday in the 1980s and early 1990s, when the two teams met for 10 straight seasons. Alabama may lead the all-time series against the Nittany Lions 10-5, but there have been some donnybrooks along the way.
One of the greatest moments in the rivalry occurred in 1989, when the Crimson Tide traveled to State College, Pa., to face the No. 14 Nittany Lions in front of 85,975 rabid fans in “Happy Valley.” The game was secured by Alabama in the waning moments when defensive lineman Thomas Rayam broke through and blocked a 17-yard field goal attempt by Nittany Lions kicker Ray Taurasi. ‘Bama won, 17-16.
Rutgers
This may not be a contest that deserves a marquee alongside Bogey and Bacall, but Alabama and Rutgers have met on the field on two occasions. The Scarlet Knights and Crimson Tide played a home-and-home in 1980 and ’81, with Alabama winning both contests.
The first one was a 17-13 squeaker in the Meadowlands, N.J., and the second was a 31-7 thumping at Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa. The unexpectedly tight game played in New Jersey fetched a Sports Illustrated article by Joe Marshall entitled “It Was No Picnic in the Big Apple: Alabama’s Bear Bryant Thought His Boys Would Enjoy A Feast Up North, But Pesky Rutgers Nearly Spoiled the Tide’s Party.”
Illinois
When I think about Alabama and Illinois meeting on the field, I think about the 1982 Liberty Bowl, when Bear Bryant looked like the sideline version of Jeremiah Johnson, wearing a fur he’d just skinned somewhere in the west Arkansas wilderness. And even though I wasn’t in attendance that night, the game still feels cold to me.
This 21-15 victory was meaningful in Alabama history because it was Bryant’s last game as head coach at Alabama (Quick: What was the score and opponent in Bryant’s first game at Alabama? That would be a 13-3 loss to LSU in Ladd Stadium in Mobile.)
Minnesota
Alabama has a losing record to Minnesota. Repeat: Alabama has a losing record to Minnesota.
Though it may be hard to believe, Alabama is 0-1 all time versus the Golden Gophers of Minneapolis. That’s because out of all bowl games in which the Crimson Tide has participated in, perhaps the least memorable is the 20-16 loss to the Golden Gophers after the 2004 season.
Other than that, the two teams haven’t met. That will change in 2032 and ’33, when, Lord willin’, the teams will meet for a home-and-home series for the ages.
Wisconsin
Camp Randall Stadium will be rockin’ today as the undefeated Tide rolls into Madison. The first meeting between the two schools occurred in 1928, when Wallace Wade marched a 3-1 Tide into the same venue and got shut out by Glenn Thistlethwaite’s (spell-check, then say that five times in a row) Badgers, 15-0. The second was just a few years ago, when the Tide and Badgers met at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Tex., for the Advocare Classic. Alabama won 35-17 and went on to win the national title that same year.
Now the Tide will look to go 3-0 in the young Kalen DeBoer era by defeating the Badgers on their home turf. Can Alabama continue its success against the Big Ten? We’ll find out today.
In the meantime, I’d like for you to consider something and get back to me. I don’t have time to conduct the research, but today’s matchup begs the question: will this be the northernmost victory for the Crimson Tide in school history? I don’t recall Alabama ever playing in Saskatchewan or Manitoba, but a victory today in the 43rd parallel, in a hostile environment, would certainly be one for the books. TG
Photos courtesy Alabama Athletics
